Recently Paralyzed Dog

[HavensHuman]

My dog Haven is 15 years old and was diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy almost a month ago. He is progressing rather quickly. 2 weeks ago he was still able to walk around albeit wobbly.

Now he cannot walk around at all. He can still stand on his hind legs as long as he is leaning against something. His left leg is almost completely paralyzed but his right leg still has quite a bit of mobility. He is thankfully not incontinent at this time.

He is not coping well at all with this sudden change. Even at 15 he still has a TON of energy and has always been a very demanding dog. But now that he can't do things on his own he has become a thousand times more demanding.

I am not sure what to do for him.

He knuckles hard on his left foot and has ripped it to a bloody mess. I now put a padded sock on him when we go outside.

The biggest problem is he wants out upwards of 20 times a day. The highest was 25 times in one day. He was on a strict schedule before. He went out 3 times a day for 30 minutes and then once before bed for an hour. I live in the country with a huge fenced in yard so he has rarely ever been on a leash.

Now he has to wear a leash as well as a rear harness and he gets very upset that he can't chase after my other dog like he normally does. My youngest dog tries to accomodate and will lay down in front of him so they can play.

But when we come inside he will knock out for 20 minutes and then is awake and whining and dragging himself all over the place wanting out. And I have made a huge mistake by giving in so now he does it all day and night.

He does not sleep at night at all. I have taken to sleeping on my couch (he cannot be crated he has always been extremely terrified of being closed in anywhere) so that he doesn't get stuck somewhere trying to get to my bedroom.

His vet has given him some powerful anti anxiety medication that does very little for him and he has been unwilling to try anything else on him.

I took him to a holistic vet who gave him CBD oil which sometimes works wonders.

Both vets have suggested a wheelchair but I took up a second job just to afford his current vet visits and medications (he also has a tumor on his chest that is being treated) and I definitely cannot afford a wheelchair. I've tried looking up how to make one myself but I am about as handy as a rock.

If I ever get my hands on one I'm sure both my dog and my shoulders will thank me.

I'm mainly here to ask for any and all advice. I'm going to start limiting his time out (even though his whines make me want to just hand him the entire world) so he gets back on a decent schedule. I am lucky enough to work from home so I don't have to worry about anyone caring for him.

The harness he is currently using isn't the best it is the Solvit Rear Lift Harness. If anyone has any suggestions of a better harness preferable one that can stay on long term please feel free to let me know. He's a little under 55lbs so it needs to be sturdy.

Sorry this is a bit of a jumbled mess but I've had maybe an hour of sleep in the last 3 days.

I always wondered if I spoiled him... Now I know.

[CarolC]

I don't have a lot of wisdom about the not sleeping. When my senior golden retriever got to that stage, we had the same issue. He'd be pretty OK during the day, then cry at night after I went to bed, and I had to work the next day. I was getting so exhausted, in desperation I moved to the bedroom on the other side of the central air unit (which was in the hall), turned the a/c on so it would run all night, and used the roar of the a/c as white noise so I could sleep. After a period of time, (it went on for several weeks, I don't know exactly how long it was), he settled down and quit crying at night.

One person here had some luck with melatonin.

Re: Can dogs get sundowner's? and other problems

My 13 year old Golden Retriever is recently having a problem with this. As soon as 9pm comes...he gets restless and will barkbarkbarkbark. I think he would pace if he could but he has limited use of his rear legs. He does keep trying to get up a million times. He is also about 90 percent deaf now so that is confusing to him as well.

We started giving him Melatonin at 9pm every night. It works like a CHARM! He sleeps almost through the night only getting up once to change (try to) positions. I don't know the dosage for you because your dog is small but you could certainly discuss this with your Vet. I am so glad that my boyfriend thought of this because we have to monitor his quality of life daily now and this was really affecting it.

Bobbie has experience with DM and she suggested arranging an electric fan so it is blowing on the dog. Somehow it is soothing to them and they can sleep.

one thing that seems to help our DM corgis with nighttime anxiety is a small fan. They often sleep much better with it. So I'd try that, you never know, it might work.

Otherwise, sleeping near him for awhile is probably a good idea. Put a mattress on the floor and camp out. If he gets restless during the night flip him over- often that's the problem (imagine if you could not turn over when you wanted to.) it will just make life easier and you'll get more sleep, even if it seems extreme.

As far as his feet being torn up, have you tried a Biko brace?
http://www.vetinst.com/pages.php?pageid=62

I am attaching a photo of the brace being used with a wheelchair.

Here are 2 videos showing using the Biko brace alone. These are just 2 examples, there are other videos on youtube as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybEoCM1KoRk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W-WvVAxLeE

Another option is a No Knuckling Training Sock https://www.handicappedpets.com/no-knuc ... ning-sock/ or a TheraPaw dorsi-flex assist http://scoutshouse.com/product/thera-pa ... ex-assist/

I believe the Help Em Up harness can be worn all day, but they say take it off at night if you can.

Q: How long can I leave the Help’Em Up™ harness on my dog?
It can be worn for extended periods; however, we suggest that you give your dog breaks from wearing it. Let them sleep without it if possible or if you have a dog that needs a potty trip at 3am, take it off after they return. Also, watch for them chewing on it when left alone. If you are leaving it on for extended periods, please check for hot spots and overheating as it can become uncomfortable for your dog if left on for too long a time.

The Hartmann harness can for sure.

If your dog is incapacitated, it can remain on your dog all day, or you can leave on the front half and snap on the rear when needed.

There is a foundation that offers loaner wheelchairs, that you return back to them when you no longer need it. It is run by Jason, whose hunting dog was in a wheelchair and they went out to duck ponds and the whole bit. If you tell him you live in the country, he will know what kind of cart will work for your terrain.

https://www.handicappedpets.com/blog/gu ... oundation/

[critters]

If the loaner wheels don't work out, could you find a welder or a welding class who might be willing to make a quad (4-wheeled) cart for him? For sure, PVC wouldn't be an option for 55 pounds.

[HavensHuman]

Wow thank you for the replies!

I unfortunately live in an extremely small very rural town. The closest I could come to a welder or welding class would the the community college. And I don't think they do like other colleges where they take projects from outside of their classes. But I will check.

I've tried melatonin with him before with no success. He does take CBD oil which helps on and off. But only in the living room so I've taken to sleeping on my couch so he can get some rest and so I can get at least a little sleep.

I will definitely try letting a fan blow on him. I've tried the sound of a fan since he's slept around a fan since a puppy but never though of an actual fan.

I'm switching vets since his normal vet is basically just giving up on him and he's not ready for that. So I will talk to her about the Biko brace and I will order the no knuckling sock in the meantime. Right now it is mainly his left foot. He still has pretty good control of his right foot.

I very much like those harnesses better than the one he is using now. I don't leave his harness on at night he refuses to lay down if it is on him.

I contacted Gunnar's Wheels on FB they have a waiting list but I'm going to take his measurements and have him put on the list. Now just getting him to be still long enough to get measurements... Just because he's paralyzed doesn't mean he's not the most wiggly dog on the face of the planet lol.

[critters]

Wow thank you for the replies!

I unfortunately live in an extremely small very rural town. The closest I could come to a welder or welding class would the the community college. And I don't think they do like other colleges where they take projects from outside of their classes. But I will check. Yes, certainly worth trying. You might ask if the high school has a welding class, too, and ask around if somebody might weld some things at home, not professionally, but with the know-how.

I've tried melatonin with him before with no success. He does take CBD oil which helps on and off. But only in the living room so I've taken to sleeping on my couch so he can get some rest and so I can get at least a little sleep.

I will definitely try letting a fan blow on him. I've tried the sound of a fan since he's slept around a fan since a puppy but never though of an actual fan.

I'm switching vets since his normal vet is basically just giving up on him and he's not ready for that. So I will talk to her about the Biko brace and I will order the no knuckling sock in the meantime. Right now it is mainly his left foot. He still has pretty good control of his right foot.

I very much like those harnesses better than the one he is using now. I don't leave his harness on at night he refuses to lay down if it is on him.

I contacted Gunnar's Wheels on FB they have a waiting list but I'm going to take his measurements and have him put on the list. Now just getting him to be still long enough to get measurements... Just because he's paralyzed doesn't mean he's not the most wiggly dog on the face of the planet lol. Plus measuring when they can't stand up is difficult.

[FYI]

https://www.handicappedpets.com/financial-aid-for-pets/

[critters]

I'd never seen that page before!

[CarolC]

Me neither. Nice!

[HavensHuman]

Thank you for that link!

I do have a question about when he is indoors. Is it okay if he scoots around? He kind of holds his back legs to one side and uses his front legs to scoot through the house. I do make sure he doesn't develop any sores or scrapes.

Right now there is someone with him at all times. But that won't always be feasible and I don't want to overly worry about him when he is left home. At night or if I absolutely have to leave him alone for a few minutes he is gated into the living room. Crating is not an option he has always been terrified of being closed in small spaces.

[CarolC]

I call that kind of dragging "sidesaddle" for lack of a better word. As far as I know, I don't think the actual dragging is a problem (for his front legs or anything) but I would think with enough dragging, he will eventually develop some rug burn or other abrasions, even though you've watched him and been lucky so far. I especially worry about the hip. Some dogs raise their hip and transfer their weight over their front feet pretty well, and the hip is not scraped (but the toes may be). However, if he does not hold his hip up off the ground, an abrasion on the hip can be a problem, partly due to lying on it while it's trying to heal, and partly due to the risk of urine getting on it. Something to consider is that if he is dragging in a certain way right now (for example hip off the floor), you want to watch to see if he begins to do it differently as he progresses. There are drag bags to protect the skin (you can see them on the main page of this forum on the righthand side). You can also protect the hip (if needed) by putting him in a diaper to give him some cushion for his skin and hip bone, even if he doesn't need it for incontinence.

The gating idea sounds practical. If he doesn't tolerate crating, then options include baby-gating the dog into a small room such as the spare bath or laundry room, or even the end of the hallway. Another really good option is an x-pen (or ex-pen). You can set it up anywhere, he can see out of all 6 sides, and he has a little room to move around. For example, if you have sliding patio doors (and he won't be stuck in bright sun) you could set up the x-pen in front of the glass where he could see out. Plenty of blankets to lie on, nice tip-proof water bowl, happy dog.

There are a couple of good photos of Tinker in his "ex-pen" on this page in the July 6 post about halfway down.
https://tinkerbeagle.blogspot.com/searc ... esults=100

Also, if he seems to be progressing rapidly, you might want to start researching malewraps and order a couple. There are so many brands. I like the kind that does not have elastic, but different people prefer different styles so it's totally up to the owner. You can also sew your own if you have a machine. If you want examples and instructions, there are some on this forum, just ask for links. If you get them made or ordered now, you'll know whether the kind you got are going to work for him, so you'll be ready before he needs them. It's a nice feeling knowing you are prepared.